Samantha Walukonis is a dynamic education leader with broad experience across charter, nonpublic, and private special education schools. Samantha leverages her legal and advocacy background to promote policies and practices that support high-quality public education for diverse learners. Samantha has been actively involved in the Co-op for several years, having served as a member of its Advisory Board and targeted working groups. Previously, she was the Director of Student Support Services at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS, where she designed an expanded continuum across grade levels, and partnered with the Co-op to introduce multiple research-based intervention programs that accelerated student achievement.

Samantha has a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she began her work in Special Education law through the Civil Practice Clinic. She then completed graduate work in Executive Function, Dyslexia, and Education Program Management, and obtained formal training in research-based structured literacy intervention while working as a Special Education teacher and administrator. As the parent of two twice-exceptional children, Samantha has a passion for building collaboration between school systems and families, and developing multi-disciplinary expertise in School Leaders to support innovative, holistic programming.